Past Simple vs. Present Perfect - Everything you need to know in 1 table!

How many of you get frustrated with Past Simple vs. Present Perfect revisions, discussions, tests...? Although Past Simple has always been this cool, logical, straight-forward past tense all of us know from our own mother tongues, Present Perfect seems to be its evil twin brother. Sometimes it's about the past, sometimes it's about the present; sometimes you need a specific context and sometimes you must use it and that's it - no questions asked, no answers given.

Today I've put this tricky tense (I've used 'I've put' - who can tell me why? ;)) in a table and hopefully you'll understand once and for all when you really need Past Simple and when you should go for Present Perfect.

You can get the printable version (with the answer key) by clicking HERE.

Past Simple
Present Perfect Simple
Construction:

I bought a car last week.

I didn’t buy a car last week.

Did you buy a car last week?
Construction:

I’ve bought a car this week.

I haven’t bought a car this week.

Have you bought a car this week?
Usage:

1. For actions that happened in the past. The time of the action is finished and important.
Ex: She didn’t eat anything yesterday morning.
2.Past states and habits.
Ex: I never woke up before 8.00 in those days. (habit)
Ex: I lived and worked in Portugal when I was younger. (state)
3.Actions that happened in the past one after another.
Ex: I came back home, ate dinner and went to sleep.
4. When we mention people who are no longer with us.
Ex: Princess Diana was the mother of William and Harry.
Usage:

1.For actions that are finished but the time of the action is not finished.
Ex: She hasn’t eaten anything this morning.
2.Actions that are finished but the time of the action is not important or not clear.
Ex: I’ve recently moved to London.
3.To give news; to tell people about new things that have happened.
Ex: A plane has crashed at Heathrow Airport.
4. For past actions with still visible effects.
Ex: Anna has broken her leg. (It’s still in plaster)
!5.For actions that started in the past but continue now.
Ex: I have loved my husband since we met in 1995.

! In this usage we normally we use non-progressive verbs in Present Perfect Simple and progressive ones in Present Perfect Continuous.

Examples of non-progressive verbs: love; like; know; be; want; seem; own; have; see; etc.

I haven’t seen Peter for ages. – Present Perfect Simple

I’ve been studying a lot recently. – Present Perfect Continuous.
Key words:
yesterday; last...(month, year, Monday); ....(2 years, a week)ago; for...(a week, a year); when…?
Key words:
this... (week, year, summer);
recently; lately; just; already; ever; never; yet; before
for ... (periods of time, ex: a week, a day, 5 hours, 5 years)
since... (particular moments in the past, ex: Monday, 2010, May, the party, I met you)



 Quiz Time! 
                                         

Present Perfect vs. Past Simple & Present Simple

Choose the correct option:

I have worked / worked / work in this company for 5 years now.

Where were you / have you been all day yesterday?

When have you got / did you get married?

I’ve already/yet done it.

I went/ have gone to Australia 3 times before.

Michael Jackson was/has been the biggest star of his generation.

My family lives/ has lived in France.

How long have you worked/ did you work/ do you work here?

You look awful! What happened/ has happened?

I didn’t look/ haven’t looked for a new job since I found/ have found this one.

We’ve been friends for/since a long time.

I didn’t see/ haven’t seen this film before.

She has just / still bought a new car.
Location: Fleurier, 2114 Val-de-Travers, Suisse

Popular posts from this blog

I used to get up early vs I'm used to getting up early and I'm getting used to getting up early

Image
Today we're going to discuss three popular constructions that may cause you some trouble. What are the differences between 'used to' and 'be used to -ing'? And what on earth is 'get used to -ing' all about? Study the table below, read the examples and try to come up with your own examples! Visit my website with lost of exam tips, printable lessons and ESL games   https://www.teatimeschool.ch/ As usual - you can download the printable version with some extra speaking activities by clicking HERE . I USED TO PLAY THE PIANO/ I’M USED TO PLAYING THE PIANO/ I’M GETTING USED TO PLAYING THE PIANO USED TO BE USED TO + ING GET USED TO +ING I used to like boy bands. (I liked boy bands in the past, now I don’t like them) I am used to getting up early because I start my job at 6 a.m. (It is normal for me to get up early because of my job) When I first moved to France it was difficult for me to speak...
Read more

Conditionals - how to use them outside classroom!

Image
At some point of your English adventure, you must have come across the famous CONDITIONALS. Your teachers were exaggerating how important it is to master this specific grammar point and you promised eagerly to mix the tenses correctly till the rest of your lives. Just to... never use them outside the classroom. In fact, conditionals are really useful means of expression, even if it's perfectly possible to survive a foreign holiday without them :) To help you understand how you can use conditionals in real life conversations, I have written the short text below. Try to notice the logical  differences between the three conditionals and don't hesitate to ask me questions if you still have any! For the analizers, some warm-up questions before; for the hard-workers - some vocabulary practice. Key for the lazy ones also included :) Everybody's happy? Good! Now, let's get to work! PDF version Before reading the text, discuss these questions: 1.   Is it diffic...
Read more

FCE Vocabulary Revision - Sport and Leisure

Image
Today, we'll look at another topic that is often discussed at the FCE exam. The short exercise below checks your knowledge on the topic of Sport & Leisure activities. Try not to cheat and don't read the key before you finish the task! Good luck! :) Download the printable PDF version here!   Fill the gaps with the words given below: got stuck          skillful          recover         failure         postpone          spare         runner-up          pitch        viewers           spectators           draw          pastime    ...
Read more